Device for dosage of air

ABSTRACT

The invention refers to a feeder for dosing air in small quantities or pressure pulses to the external auditory meatus of a person with vertigo e.g. Ménière&#39;s disease. The feeder includes a pump body ( 10 ) with a through hole ( 12 ), one end ( 14 ) of which is connectable to an ear adapter by a flexible tube and the other end ( 15 ) of which is provided with an air pump device ( 16 ). The pump body ( 10 ) of the air pump device ( 16 ) has a manually impressionable, temporarily adjustable volume in providing a quantity of air with a pulsating overpressure of a repeatable and adjustable size.

The present invention refers to a feeder for dosing air in smallquantities or pressure pulses to the external auditory meatus of aperson with vertigo e.g. Ménière's disease and including a pump bodywith a through hole, one end of which being connectable to an earadapter by a flexible tube and the other end of which being providedwith an air pump device.

There are many different vertigos especially among grown-ups and one isMénière's disease. This disease is caused by disturbances in the balanceorgan of the internal ear and it often leads to serious hearingimpairment with deafness as a not unusual consequence. This disease andother similar vertigos are very difficult to treat. You can givemedicines with tablets for expelling liquid or you can also operate,which unfortunately often leads to deafness as a consequence.

A new method to manage these diseases is to give the ducts of theinternal ear a gentle “massage” with the help of a light air excesspressure and a tube installed in the tympanic membrane. This has provedeffective both prophylactically and also acutely but the apparatus whichup till now have been based on this method are extremely complicated andexpensive. Furthermore, they are not suitable for mobile use.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cheapdevice, which a person can carry, e.g. in his pocket, to be usedanywhere when needed.

The invention is more in detail described below with reference to theattached drawing, which schematically shows the invention from the side.

The characteristic features of the invention are stated in thesubsequent patent claims. Thanks to the invention a feeder according tothe above has been provided, which in an excelent way fulfils itspurposes at the same time as it is very cheap and easy to produce. Whena person with a vertigo problem begins to feel dizzy you just pull theair dosing feeder out of your pocket or handbag. The ear adapter is putinto the external auditory meatus, you adjust the position of thebellows on the pump body, and then you push your finger, e.g. yourthumb, against the resilient compressible bellows a suitable number oftimes to create intermittent increases of pressure in the ear. Toincrease or decrease the air quantity you only adjust the bellows on thepump body in one or the other direction and after pumping for a whilethe dizziness is gone.

This air dosing feeder consists according to the invention of a pumpbody 10 e.g. in plastic with an assembled compressible air pump device16. This air pump device 16 can be in the shape of a bellows 11. Thepump body 10 has in this example a through hole 12. One end 14 isnarrower than the other and a plastic tube is mountable with the earadapter. The other end 15 of the pump body 10 has the shape of a neck13, where the bellows 11 is mounted. This is possible owing to the factthat the bellows 11 has an open end 17 and therefore can be slipped onthe neck 13. The bellows 11 has a bottom 18 opposite the open end 17.This bottom acts as a pressure suface. It is resilient and possible topress against the free outer end 19 of the neck 13. The position of thebellows 11 on the neck 13 can be adjusted and fixed in a suitable placealong the length of the neck 13. The length of the neck 13 is matched sothat by compressing the bellows 11 completely to the bottom of the outerend 19 of the neck 13 an identical amount of compressed air isguaranteed the whole time. The position of the bellows 11 on the neck 13can be fastened by a simple hand grip. In this example the bellows canobtain the fixed position on the neck 13 only by means of friction. Byadjusting the position of the bellows 11 on the neck 13 the amount ofair can thus be increased or decreased with retained exactness of thepumping.

In an alternative embodiment example the bellows 11 is firmly mounted tothe other end 15 of the pump body 10 at the same time as the free outerend 19 of the neck 13 is movable to and from the bottom 18 of thebellows 11 in order to obtain the repeatable constant amount of air.

To obtain the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere inside the bellows11 after having put the ear adapter into the external auditory meatus,the bottom 18 of the bellows 11 can have an opening, e.g. in the shapeof a hole 20 of about 1-3 mm. An exact pressure of the pumping is inthis way guaranteed the whole time, both after the putting in theadapter into the ear and after each pumping. The hole 20 can be shut offby aid of a finger during the pumping.

1. A feeder for dosing air in small quantities or pressure pulses to theexternal auditory meatus of a person with vertigo e.g. Ménière'sdisease, and including a pump body (10) with a through hole (12), oneend (14) of which is connectable to an ear adapter and the other end(15) of which is provided with an air pump device (16), characterized inthat the air pump device (16) consists of a resilient, compressiblebellow (11), which are adjustable to different, fixable positions on theother end (15) of the pump body (10) at the same time as said pump body(10) has a manually impressionable, temporarily adjustable volume inproviding a quantity of air with a pulsating overpressure of arepeatable and adjustable size.
 2. A feeder according to patent claim 1,characterized in that the other end of the pump body (10) has the shapeof a neck (13) having a predetermined length and mainly a constantdiameter.
 3. A feeder according to patent claim 1, characterized in thatthe bellows (11) has an open end (17), which can be slipped on to theneck (13) and a bottom (18) serving as a pressure surface opposite theopen end (17), which is resilient compressible in order to touch bottom(18) against the free outer end (19) of the neck (13) in providing therepeatable constant quantity of air, which is depending upon theposition of the bellows (11) on the neck (13).
 4. A feeder according topatent claim 1, characterized in that the air pump device (16) consistsof the resilient compressible bellows (11), which is fixed at the otherfree end (15) of the pump body (10) at the same time as the free outerend (19) of the neck (13) is adjustable fixable to in a directiontowards and away from the bottom (18) of the bellows (11) in obtainingthe repeatable, constant quantity of air.
 5. A feeder according to claim1, characterized in that the pressure surface or the bottom (18) of thebellows (11) is provided with an opening (20), which can be shut off byaid of a finger during the pumping.
 6. A feeder according to claim 2,characterized in that the bellows (11) has an open end (I7), which canbe slipped on to the neck (13) and a bottom (18) serving as a pressuresurface opposite the open end (17), which is resilient compressible inorder to touch bottom (18) against the free outer end (19) of the neck(13) in providing the repeatable constant quantity of air, which isdepending upon the position of the bellows (11) on the neck (13).
 7. Afeeder according to claim 2, characterized in that the pressure surfaceor the bottom (18) of the bellows (11) is provided with an opening (20),which can be shut off by aid of a finger during the pumping.
 8. A feederaccording to claim 3, characterized in that the pressure surface or thebottom (18) of the bellows (11) is provided with an opening (20), whichcan be shut off by aid of a finger during the pumping.
 9. A feederaccording to claim 4, characterized in that the pressure surface or thebottom (18) of the bellows (11) is provided with an opening (20), whichcan be shut off by aid of a finger during the pumping.